ICAN serve's Stark's mentall ill, finds them shelter

ICAN Housing Solutions celebrates 25 years of housing and homeless outreach in Stark County. The agency helped more than 1,200 people who suffer from behavioral illnesses find housing, and treatment services in the last year.

More than 50 people in Stark County lived on the street in January. Another 466 people stayed in emergency shelters or transitional housing, according to the 2013 Stark County Continuum of Care point-in-time count.

While not all suffer from mental illness or substance addiction, human service professionals say people who do are at a higher risk of becoming homeless because of illnesses that make it difficult to sustain employment.

"We were founded because there was a rising number of people who had severe mental illness, and they were becoming homeless," said Maryellen Hess Cameron, executive director of ICAN Housing Solutions.

ICAN recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The agency, founded by the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Stark County, has expanded its services since it began in 1988. Cameron said the organization served about 50 people in its first years but helped more than 1,200 people find housing or treatment in the last year.

SOME OF THEIR STORIES

People such as Sherry Griffith, Marnie Maxwell and Robert Allchin, who detailed their experiences in a video ICAN displayed Thursday at the anniversary celebration.

Allchin has lived in ICAN housing for two years and is learning how to budget his money. He becomes depressed at times but said it's nice to have staff check on him. Maxwell, who lost her house and custody of her sons, has been sober for more than a year. She became an ICAN tenant after five years of addiction and has regained custody of her boys.

"It's just wonderful to try to start over a new life with them," she said in the video.

Griffith became homeless after a series of misfortunes about a year ago and discovered ICAN through the homeless hotline. She's sought a job for six months but said being homeless makes it difficult. ICAN has given her a second chance.

"They just pulled together with all their forces and just started getting stuff accomplished in one day that I never dreamed I could even accomplish in a year by myself," she said.

Cameron said ICAN's initial mission was to identify people in trouble and help them find housing. A staff member does that with "street sweeps" by driving around the Canton area looking for people who need help.

The agency now owns nearly 140 apartments and single-family homes. They also offer rent assistance and educational services.

"We provide more than a home," Cameron said. "We also provide the support that helps them keep their home."

'SAFETY NET'

John Aller, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, said having that place to stay and basic human needs is essential to recovery. The mental health board acts as a "safety net" for people in Stark County with behavioral issues, occasionally referring them to agencies they fund such as ICAN.

Page 2 of 2 - "Housing enhances treatment, compliments it and helps people get into recovery faster and lead productive lives," Aller said.

Cameron said the agency has faced some challenges throughout the years, including backlash from neighbors who fear ICAN clients will put their safety at risk. But that is not the case, Cameron said, and people who suffer from mental illnesses and the corresponding stigma are more likely to seek treatment if they feel accepted by society.

ICAN serves veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or a mental illnesses that may have been aggravated by their service. Clients also include people who turned to drugs to cope with the symptoms of an illness. Increasingly, Cameron said, the agency has helped people whose problems have become more complex, with clients coming from families with a history of abuse.

Cameron said ICAN intends to continue its efforts. She wants to serve more people severely disabled by mental illness who are unable to work and rely on agency services.

"The supply of housing that will help them succeed is not enough for the number of people who need it," she said. "So we do hope to grow."